Cable-railway gripper



' (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.'

P. T. TAYLOR. CABLE RAILWAY GRIPPER.

No. 498,325. Patented May 30,1893.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

P. T. TAYLOR. CABLE RAILWAY GRIPPER.

No. 498,325. Patented May 30, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC PHILLIPS T. TAYLOR, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CABLE-RAILWAY GRIPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 498,325, dated May 30, 1893.

Application filed April 16, 1892. Serial No. 429,428- (No model.)

'ciated the quality or feature of seizing and gripping the cable from above and from below like the style of gripper commonly known as the side-gripper, with the quality of picking up and discharging the cable after' the manner of the drop-grip.

In the class or description of gripping device first above mentioned the gripping jaws set out from the side of the carrying-frame and grip the cable fromabove and from below,

one jaw in most cases being fixed on the frame while the opposite jaw is carried by a wide bar or plate sliding perpendicularly in the frame and commonly known as the slide. This construction requires the cable to be taken in and discharged at the side of the frame and, consequently, in cases of accident to the'cable such as stranding, or unraveling of a strand, and in emergencies where it becomes necessary to disconnect and free the gripper entirely from the cable, it cannot be done except by pushing the cable out laterally from the jaws by using a tool or special device for that purposeyand often where the broken strand becomes-entangled with the gripper and the cable cannot be thrown ofl, accidents to the cars or propelling machinery and sometimes to passengers have resulted from that cause. The drop-grip, on the other hand, is constructed on the principle of taking in and dropping the cable from below and is usually constructed with swinging or pivoted jaws that set down over the cable and close together upon it in a lateral direction or from opposite sides, thereby allowing the cable to be released and discharged clear of the grip by simply throwing the jaws wide open and raising the grip-frame. Gripping devices of this description, however, are commonly found to lack the very important gripping or holding quality of the side-grip and are not so well adapted for use on roads having steep grades and carrying heavy loads.

By means of my improvements I have succeeded in combining the. powerful gripping and holding qualities and the prompt action of the side-grip with the quality of dropping and throwing off the cable possessed by the drop-grip; thus furnishing a strong and powerful device of great simplicity and with the desirable features of both styles of grips. I secure these objects and produce an improved cable-gripper in aocordance'with my invention by the construction and combination of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings in Which- Figure 1 represents the complete grip in front side elevation, with the jaws closed on the cable. Fig. 2 is an edge view taken from the right hand of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an edge view with the jaws thrown wide open. Fig. 4 is a rear side view of the jaws and'the lower portion of the grip-frame and slide. Figs. 5 and 5 are edge views of the parts in detail, the jaws and slide shown in vertical section and the dies separated from the jaws. Figs. 6 and 6 show the parts in front view and in detail together with the bottom portion of the grip-frame. Fig. 7 is an isometrical projection of the two jaws and the frame with a portion of the frame broken away to uncover the jaws and the foot of the slide. Fig. 8 is an edge view on an enlarged scale of a grip specially constructed to take in and throwout the cable from the bottom.

A A are the side-bars of the grip-frame, A the hangers by which the frame is attached to the grip-car, and A the notched segment for the grip-lever.

' B is the slide, and O O the connections'between it and the grip-lever. D to work the slide.

E is the top-jaw fastened to or formed on the front side of the slide and havingsuitable width of face or projection from the slide to take the die or removable wearing surface M.

F is the bottom-jaw having knuckles F on the top along the center and at the back a second set of knuckles F G G are links connecting the back of the bottom jaw with the slideB on the same side.

' H H are knuckles on the back ofthe slide for the links.

1 is a long bolt or a rod with threaded ends and nuts set through the knuckles F of the bottom jaw and fixed in the sidebars of the frame.

K is a bolt or a pin joining the lower ends of the links and the knuckles F and L is a similar bolt connecting the upper ends of the links with the knuckles on the back of the slide. By these three centers the bottom jaw is attached to the stationary'frame and the slide that operates the top-jaw, and as the result of this connection the bottom-jaw swings on the center I in a vertical are and perpendicularly upward toward the cable as the topjaw is brought down; or the bottom-jaw swings in the contrary direction laterally from under the cable as the top-j aw is raised.

M M are removable dies or wearing-plates with concave faces fixed on the jaws by fastenings of some kind that allow new dies to be fixed in place as often as required.

As thus constructed and connected to the slide the jaws move in contrary directions to take or to release the cable; when the slide is pressed down the top-j aw moves toward the cable from above, while the bottom jaw swings forward under the cable and takes it from below, thereby acting to pick up the cable and bring it into position between the jaws; and in like manner in the contrary movement of the slide and when the grip is thrown full open to release the cable the bottom -jaw swings back in an are from under the cable and leaves the bottom of the grip open. In this last described position the jaws clear the cable, and the grip-frame can be raised in the slot in case of an emergency where it becomes necessary to throw the grip entirely free of the cable.

In the ordinary working operation of the grip the jaws are thrown partly open to stop the car and at such times the bottom-jaw carries the cable and does not throw it off. Both jaws are moved by the one slide and are so set and connected that the forces of pressure and resistance are about equally distributed on both sides of the frame and slide, the result of which is to overcome all tendency of the frame and slide to bend or spring out of line and thus to materially increase the durability of the grip. This distribution of the forces of pressure and resistance will be understood by referring to Figs. 2 and 8 of the drawings, in which it will be seen that the pressure exerted on the cable in the downward movement of the top-jaw is also thrown upon the knuckles and links on the opposite side of the jaw and through those connections is transferred to the bottom-jaw, in consequence of which the forces are thrown upon opposite sides of the slide instead of being confined, as heretofore in side-grips, to one side of the slide.

The construction shown in Fig. 8 is in tended for roads where the grip is required to take in and discharge the cable at the bottom instead of at the side. In this form of grip the side-bars of the frame have forked ends or curved extensions P on the front side leaving openings between said side bars and extensions that serve as guides for the cable to bring it into position under the top-jaw when the frame is lowered or the cable is brought up into place to be taken by the jaws. The jaws move vertically between said two extensions, and come into operative position to clamp the cable at a point between said openings, as will be seen in Fig. 8. In

all other points the construction is the same as the side-grip.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a cable-railway grip, the combination of the grip-frame, the slide, a top-jaw at one side of said frame, and a bottom jaw pivoted in the frame and its front end having movement in an arc toward and away from the topjaw; with links connecting its rear end with the slide to be moved thereby, substantially as described.

2. In a cable-railway grip, the slide and the top-jaw mounted on one side of the slide, in combination with the swinging bottom-jaw movable in an arc beneath the top-jaw, as described, and connected with the slide on the end of the swinging-jaw moving in, an arc beneath said top-jaw and its rear end having the extension back of the line of its pivot, the knuckles on the back of the slide, and the links pivotally connecting the extension with the knuckles on the slide on the same side thereof, substantially as described.

4:. In a cable-railway grip, the combination of the slide, the top-jaw mounted on the slide, the swinging bottom-jaw pivoted in the gripframe having the extension back of the line of its pivot and the links connecting the extension with the slide on the same side, substantially as described.

5. In a cablerailway grip, the combination of the grip-frame having the downwardly extending forked extensions P on one side of the side-bars, the slide, the top-jaw mounted on the slide, and the swinging bottom-jaw pivoted in the frame to swing in a vertical arc toward and away from the top-jaw, the jaws coming into operative position between the openings of said extensions, and connections between the bottom-jaw and the slide to cause the latter to be moved thereby, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

PHILLIPS T. TAYLOR. [1... s.]

Witnesses:

O. W. M. SMITH, CHAS. E. KELLY. 

